INVOLVEMENT OF AMINOPEPTIDASE IN THE ACROSOME REACTION IN SPERM OF THE MUSSEL MYTILUS EDULIS

摘要

It has been generally accepted that one step in the fertilization process requires interaction of complementary molecules present on the surface of the oocyte's extracellular coat and the sperm. The study of the acrosome reaction and sperm-oocyte binding in the bivalves had so far been limited to the morphological aspects (reviewed by Longo 1983); the chemical nature of complementary recognition sites had been poorly understood.